Every Vote Counts!

Today is the finale of Taste of USA!

Where do you want to go?

From the Freedom Bracket:

Kentucky

From the Independence Bracket,

Ohio

And from the Liberty Bracket,

Indiana

Vote over there--->>

Let Freedom Ring!

Today's battle is in the Freedom Bracket and is between our 21st state, Illinois and our 15th state, Kentucky. The Land of Lincoln battles the Bluegrass State. They share the Cardinal as their state bird and they are neighboring states so this should be a good battle. Let's look at the map.

I'm guessing that if Illinois wins the best place to fly in is Chicago but we could fly into St. Louis and drive over to somewhere fun in Illinois. And, we have the same situation with Kentucky. Would we fly into Louisville where we already have a lot of readers or would we fly into Cincinnati and drive to Kentucky?

Can you answer these questions for me? Between these two states, where do you want to go? And, I'm not just talking state... what city, town or farm?

Please don't say camp grounds, please don't say camp grounds! Don't mind me. Go vote!

Over there---->>>>

The quiet before the storm...

Happy Friday everyone. Here's where we stand. There will be no voting today. We will resume our semi-final round next Tuesday with voting for one bracket only.

Tuesday will be the Freedom Bracket:
Kentucky will duke it out with yesterdays winner Illinois.

Wednesday will be the Independence Bracket:
Virginia will battle it out with yesterdays winner Ohio.

Thursday will be the Liberty Bracket:
Indiana- state de la Cassie- goes up against New York.

The winners of the above competitions are our winners of each bracket. Taste of USA will be decided on Friday between those three states! Got it? Good!

Now go have a great Memorial Day weekend with your peeps!

I feel ick.

This is going to be short because I'm not 100%.

Plain and simple.

Vote over there------>>>

Freedom Bracket:
Georgia or Illinois

Independence Bracket:
Ohio or Arizona

Liberty Bracket:
Oklahoma or New York

Where do you want to go?

Closer and closer we creep to a winner and a treat! We have some super competitors today! Let's get ready to VVVVVooooooooote!

Freedom Bracket:
Iowa or Arizona

Independence Bracket:
Florida or Illinois

Liberty Bracket:
Mississippi or New York

Vote over there------>>>>>>

I am kicking myself for not squeezing in sometime yesterday to update the brackets. I'm going off the notes in my Planner Pad. I do know that we will have a winner next Friday!!!

Whacky Wednesday

Take a whack at voting over
there---->>>>>>

and while you're at it whack your brains and tell me where you think we should go in each of the following six states. If you enter the cities you would like us to go, you will be entered in a drawing for some yummy Starbucks!

Freedom Bracket:
North Dakota or Arizona

Independence Bracket:
Wyoming or Illinois

Liberty Bracket:
Rhode Island or New York

Good luck my friends.

Let's wrap up the week. Today is comment day!

This week we visited:

On the Prairie Deck:
Illinois where we can eat world famous pizza and dogs. And if we're lucking enough we could even visit the world famous Struble Suds.



On the Rushmore Deck:
South Dakota where we can visit Mt. Rushmore and all it's marvel. And who knew Dairy Queen's went so far north. I used to work at Dairy Queen but not in the store. I was in the corporate office. No soft serve for me!



On the Lake Deck:
Minnesota where I didn't mention the Mall of America. Tera discovered Chipolte Burritos in Minnesota. Katie's been to Mall of America when she was 10 and loved the Lego center. I still love Lego's! And, in recent news Minnesota is where Obama sealed his candidacy.



On the Flight Deck:
North Carolina where Anonymous brought to light Duke University and they lived in Wilmington, a great beach town.



On the Saguaro Cactus Deck:
Arizona where same Anonymous went to Arizona State University where they have great memories. Thanks for sharing them! And, I went down memory lane with the Grand Canyon, Four Corners National Monument, and Petrified Forest which I have little to no memory of actually seeing. :)

What do you do now?

If you are a resident of any of the above mentioned states read on.

Do you see the word comment just below this text? It may have the number zero in front of it. If we're lucky, it will have the number 59 in front of it. Move your little mouse down there and click and enter your comment on the next page and tell us what makes your state the Taste of USA!

Welcome to the Land of Lincoln

Also known as the heart of America. From the busiest airport to the tallest skyscraper on to the leading producers of corn and soybeans Illinois has it all. Small towns, tranquil farms and big cities. Illinois ranks 5th in population with a lot of that in Chicago. That's the first thing I think of when I think of Illinois.

Chicago. It's a place that has been on my list of places to go for a long time. I hear that is has the best food in the US. And when you go check out the Go Chicago Pass. It includes entry to museums, zoos, tours and a ton of must see when in Chicago attractions. When I'm there I'm going to the Frank Lloyd Wright Home and Studio Tour. And I'm going to eat like there's no tomorrow! I'm a huge pizza fan and I hear they have the best! Where do you want to go and where should I go to eat?

Illinois is also known as the Land of Lincoln because of course Abraham Lincoln was from the area though he was born in Kentucky. His family moved to Macon County, Illinois. The Presidential Library is located in Springfield.

I love the website for Illinois. Explore, Discover, Indulge, Play. And then they direct you to a ton of stuff that you can do whether you're a couple looking for a romantic getaway, a family looking to discover some history and play or just the girls going for a wine trip. You can find it all here.

The fun facts for Illinois are the state flower is the violet, the state bird is the cardinal and the state fish is the bluegill.

Okay, now I've only just barely scratched the surface of Illinois. I need your input! Everyone chime in and tell us your Illinois stories.

All you people from Illinois... Illinoisians? Well, y'all meet us on the Prairie Deck this Friday, June 6th and tell us what really makes Illinois the Taste of USA!